The Problem with Running
by Nova Edgewater
Summary: Claire comes to Mineral Town hoping to escape her past. She struggles to make a new life for herself, despite rebuffing the creepy affections of an unwanted suitor, and arguing with a most frustratingly annoying blacksmith. But what happens when her past comes colliding with her present? Will she be able to truly move on and learn to be herself again?
1. Prologue: Introductions

Claire's POV

"What the hell?" I murmured to myself staring blankly at the field. I had never before seen such a wretched sight in my life before. The field was in shambles, overrun with weeds, old stumps and large boulders. "Well Claire you wanted something different. This is certainly different."

I let my eyes wander once again over my property. MY property; it was the first time I had ever been able to say that. This place was nothing like the city. It was picturesque town just like the painting my father had painted that I had cherished for so long. I stopped that line of thought, no use in thinking about the past, I needed to focus on my future. _This place had potential, maybe._ "Who are you trying to fool Claire, this place is an absolute dump."

"What are you doing here?" A voice asked behind me. I nearly jumped out of my skin, I had not heard anyone approaching me. I turned to see a short round man standing behind me. I backed away from him.

"I... I am the new owner," I explained the the man. I watched as his face relaxed some. I felt dejected. This place had been nothing like the ad had described. Luxurious and beautiful farmlands, ha! Yeah right!

"Ah, you're the new owner! !ell I am Mayor Thomas." I stared at the man keeping my face emotionless. I was so completely weary from traveling so far, and to be greeted by the sight of the shambles I was going to now be calling home, well was even more exhausting. "Why would a young girl like yourself want to run a farm anyway?"

"Well I saw the advertisement and..." I trailed off, realizing how stupid I must have sounded at the moment.

"Ha ha ha, you fell for that old thing. I never thought that anyone would actually fall for it. The property's been on the market for a while, ever since the last owners died." His booming laughter rattled my last thin grip on any hope for optimism. My expression turned to stone. This stranger was mocking me. The man backed away from me now. "Look why don't you try it out, this place has a lot of potential. The inside of the house is still pretty nice, albeit the decorations are outdated. When we found out a new farmer was coming, the supermarket graciously decided to give you a few starter seeds. You should find some tools in the toolbox in the house. I've arranged for Zack to come and pick up any deliveries you have every day except Sundays and Holidays. Really I think you could be successful here."

I continued to stare at the man. Even I could hear the doubt in his voice. The man who called himself Mayor Thomas quickly left. I turned back to the wreck of the farm. Was this really mine? After purchasing this hunk of land I had only 10g left to my name, so I might as well make the best of it. I knew there was no way I was going to be able to resell it, at least not in the state it was in. I walked over to the small farmhouse. It was not looking as promising as Mayor Thomas had said, there was siding that was starting to come off, and the roof looked like it was in need of repairs. Well I could work on that later, tonight I was exhausted, and all I wanted to do was go to bed. I opened the door afraid of what might be inside, however I was pleasantly surprised for the first time since I had walked onto the property. I felt myself relaxing. It was a nice and cozy little farmhouse. In the middle of the room was a small couch a TV and a coffee table, the the left a small kitchen, and to the right I saw a door that must lead to the bedroom, praying that there were sheets on the bed, I moved to the bedroom, and promptly fell asleep.

I woke up to a knock on the door. I opened my eyes momentarily disoriented, I was not in my apartment. It was then that I remembered, I had bought a farm. What had I been thinking? Luckily I had was still wearing my clothes from the night before. I trudged my way to the door.

"Good morning," Mayor Thomas greeted me cheerfully. I rubbed my left eye with the palm of my hand. "I'm sorry did I wake you?"

"What can I help you with?" I asked choosing not to respond to his question.

"Well I wanted to introduce you to your shipper Zack," I looked past the Mayor to see a large hulking man standing there. I had never seen anyone with muscles that large before, he had wicked long sideburns, and short spiky hair. I stifled a chuckle.

"Pleasure to meet you Miss," Zack greeted. "I look forward to working with you."

"Thanks," I answered back, taking his extended hand.

"Well we'll leave you to your work," Mayor Thomas stated, "There's a lot to do." Yeah understatement of the century. "Well I'll be around, please don't hesitate to ask anyone if you have questions." I remained silent, so he continued. "Well I am glad you decided to stay?" It sounded more like a question than a statement.

"Yeah," I replied still half asleep.

"Mineral Town is quite small, but I do hope that you enjoy it here." He finally left after saying that. I needed to get something to eat, and needed to at least brush my teeth. This was going to be a long day

* * *

Gray's POV  
A few days later

I pulled the hat on my head over my face even farther, when my grandfather was yelling at me like this it was better for the old man to not see my expression of anger.

"Look at this! I cannot sell this!"

"What's wrong with it?" I snarled back.

"What's wrong with it? Really you don't understand do you? You have to see for yourself before I can answer that!"

I glared at him. See for myself? How in Goddess' name was I supposed to see for myself? I wished he would just tell me.

"You need to apply yourself more, Gray. Stop accepting mediocrity!"

I turned away from him grateful that my shift was finally over, a pair of pale blue eyes were staring up at me. I looked at the girl standing in front of me, she was quite shorter than I was. Was this the new farmer everyone in town was buzzing about?

"What are you doing here?" I asked angrily. The girl continued to look at me wide-eyed. "If you have nothing..."

"Gray! How dare you speak to a customer like that!" Gramps yelled. He turned to the small blonde. "I'm sorry for the rudeness of my grandson, what can I help you with today?"

"W- Well, I'm the new farmer, Claire Dalton. Thomas told me that you are the one to come to with issues with my tools, as it is my hoe is broken, and I was just wondering what I needed to do to fix it."

"Well it will cost you about 1000g." I watched as the girl paled.

"I-I don't have that," She sighed dejectedly. "Well thanks anyway." She turned around to walk out.

"I think we could work something out, I am always in need of extra ore, how about you find some for me for the next few weeks, and we'll see what I can do to that hoe of yours. My grandson here could sure use the help," Gramps said gruffly. I turned to glare at him.

"What? Why are you always criticizing me?" I shoved past the small blonde girl to leave. I was starting to miss the city if that was even possible. It had been two years since I had moved here to Mineral town. It was hard being a blacksmith, but I truly loved the work. If it wasn't for my grandfather, I might have enjoyed it even more.

"Oh," I heard the girl exclaim behind me, as she exited the shop. I had been so lost in thought I hadn't realized that I had not taken a step away from the door. "Sorry." She mumbled quickly, and moved past me. I watched her leave, wondering briefly what she had brought her in Mineral town, then wondering why I cared. I turned north and she turned south presumably to go to her farm. I was headed for the one place that I knew I would hear kind and encouraging words, to the library where Mary my friend would be waiting.


	2. A Bar Fight in Mineral Town

Winter: Three seasons later.

Claire's POV

I gritted my teeth glaring at the young blacksmith's apprentice, If did not desperately need the extra income that came from mining with him every morning I would just walk away. I would have loved to hurl the hammer in my hand in his direction. He was so utterly irritating and frustrating. It seemed ever since our first encounter, we had been at odds. For some infuriating reason he refused to let me come in the mines alone.

"So what exactly am I doing wrong?" I asked through my teeth. Two hours with him every morning was almost excruciating, but I could not afford to quit, at least not in winter.

"It's just that you are using just your arm strength when you swing, expending a lot more energy than necessary," the young man answered back irritated.

"Well fine then why don't you show me how to do it?" I said sarcastically, standing back from where I had been hammering. He stepped forward and demonstrated what to do.

"I'll hurt myself if I try it that way," I insisted.

"You'll hurt yourself if you don't," he growled. "But suit yourself" He turned away, I stuck my tongue out at him, knowing it was not the most mature thing in the world. But he was so aggravating!

"Why do you always wear that stupid hat?" I asked pettily.

"Because I do,"he answered back.

"Well you should seriously consider not wearing it, that does not look good on you." He turned back to look at me. What was it about him that brought out my argumentative side.

"Yeah, and you're miss fashion herself aren't you?" Gray sneered. I stopped and placed my left hand on my hip.

"What does that mean?" I asked my eyes narrowing.

'Well, all you wear is over sized overalls and checkered shirts."

"These are my work clothes."

"So is my hat."

"Fine whatever, besides I'm not the one trying to impress a certain librarian..." Gray glared at me. I had recently figured out his crush on my close friend. Of course he didn't know about the thing she had going with Dr Jacobson. Then again very few people knew about that.

"Whatever, you don't know what you are talking about," Gray said his face turning to a bright pink color.

"Gray why do you deny it? Everyone knows. Well except Mary herself, of course."

"What do you care if I do? Which I don't."

"I don't care, I just don't understand why you always deny it. I mean trust me I get it. Mary's a catch. I mean she-"

"Drop it!" Gray interrupted. I let the subject drop. Okay so maybe that fight I had instigated, but damn it, sometimes I can't help myself. He just rubs me the wrong way. My friend Mary insists that it was because the bad first impression, but I have feeling that I would have felt the same way about him no matter how our first impression would have been.

Gray's POV

Nine o'clock couldn't come fast enough in the mornings. Spending two hours with her was frustrating. If she wasn't a girl I would have probably decked her by now. My anger was not entirely directed at her, just what she represented. Of course, I had been insulted when Gramps hired her, this tiny girl to help me. Then he did nothing but compliment her and decide to keep her on. I know Gramps had a soft spot for her, but I was perfectly capable of doing the job on my own.

"Gray you okay?" a soft voice asked me. I looked up at my friend Mary. She was always so kind. It was why I had started to develop feelings for her. That and the fact that she was beautiful. I would come and visit her in the library after work. At first it had started off because I felt sorry for her, no one ever came to library. Now it was the best part of my day.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I answered back.

"You seem extra aggravated today," Mary said sweetly, her brown eyes gazed at me from over the rims of her glasses. She looked so adorable when she did that.

"Sorry Mary, it's just that working in the mines with Claire was absolutely aggravating, and then Gramps was particularly grumpy today too. The cold weather tends to aggravate his bum knee" Mary shook her head.

"Oh Gray," She said chuckling. "I don't know why Claire aggravates you so much, she really is a sweet girl." I scoffed at Mary's response. Sweet? I had yet to see the sweet side of Claire that Mary was talking about. The sea shells Mary had placed on her door clanged, signifying a new patron to the library. I turned to see the blonde in question walk through. When she saw me, she stopped mid-stride for a moment, then completely ignoring me she turned to Mary.

"Hello Mary," Claire greeted. Her voice sounded cheery. "I was just wondering if you had any books on flowers, I would like to grow a few on my farm come spring, but really have no idea where to start."

"Well you're in luck." I heard Mary reply sweetly back to Claire. "My father's a botanist, and happens to write a lot about that subject. Come on upstairs with me." I watched as both girls walked away, contemplating their differences. Even in appearance they were as different as night and day. Mary had dark almost midnight black hair that was always neatly pulled back into a braid. She had beautiful warm dark brown eyes that contrasted her creamy ivory skin. Claire's wild blonde locks were barely contained in the ponytail that she often would wear, several strands would always be loose. Claire's eyes were an icy grayish blue color, and her skin was usually tanned from the sun, or had a reddish tint from the winter winds. Mary was genteel sophistication, while Claire was unruly chaos. How the two were even friends was completely beyond my grasp of understanding.

Mary's POV

I led Claire up the stairs to where many of my fathers books were. I really did not understand why Gray didn't get along with her. Claire seemed to always be so sweet to me. She was always smiling and always cheery, although there always seemed to be an underlying sadness in her voice and her demeanor.

"Thank you so much Mary, I just needed to add some beauty to my farm you know?" Claire asked.

"Yes I do know. So what are you looking for?"

"Whatever is the easiest to keep alive," Claire answered back seriously. I couldn't help but chuckle at her poor hopeless look on her face. Claire had encountered some mishaps in her first year as a farmer. I admired Claire though, she had a determination in her. Most girls I knew (especially here in Mineral Town) would have given up by now, I know I would have.

"You're still planning on coming to the Inn tonight with Karen, Ann and me right?" I asked.

"Of course, as long as Gray's not going to be hanging out with us."

"You know you two should really just call a truce or something," I said through another chuckle. "Seriously though Claire, Gray really is a nice guy."

"Nice?" She scoffed. "I don't know what planet you're on at the moment, but clearly it's not earth." I couldn't help but laugh at her comment. My beautiful friend would probably strangle me on the spot if she knew what I really thought. Actually it was Trent who had suggested it first. I smiled when I thought of Trent; my handsome doctor.

Trent had been the one who had noticed that there might be more to their bickering than meets the eye. I remembered when he had first mentioned it, I had thought he was crazy. Gray and Claire having feelings for each other? That was impossible. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I had been tempted to find a way to get them to see, but I knew better than to interfere with the affairs of others.

Ann's POV

I smirked at my half brother as I caught him staring once again at my pretty friend sitting across from me. He had been eying her since she'd entered the Inn. Gray's eyes met mine and scowled at the knowing smirk on my face.

"You know that my big brother has like the hugest crush on you right?" I asked Mary.

"Gray? Nah we're just friends, besides which, you know I am already taken," Mary whispered.

"Well I know that, but he doesn't. Why the secrecy anyway?" I asked.

Mary lifted her glass of my father's famous wild grape juice to her lips. "You know why."

"Come on, Elli's gotta be over him by now, and really the age difference isn't that bad, I'm sure your parents will get over it," I stated. Mary was about to reply but stopped and stared past me. I turned my head to see what could possibly be drawing Mary's attention like that. When I saw it, my jaw nearly dropped. Claire had walked in wearing a dress! No one had actually ever seen Claire in anything but her overalls and the checkered shirts she would wear. When I had sent Karen to make sure Claire had dressed up I had not imagined she would actually do it. The dress was a satiny blue that accentuated the color of her eyes, and her hair was down around her shoulders, and... was she wearing makeup? Karen stood by her side beaming proudly.

I scanned the room looking for the guys' reactions. My friend Cliff turned bright red and then looked at the floor. Poor shy Cliff. Kai, who was now a staple in Mineral Town ever since proposing to Karen, stared with a goofy grin on his face. Gray's eyes widened stunned, and then turned to talk to Kai, and Rick the chicken farmer almost dropped the drink he had in his hand.

"Hey," Claire greeted, walking up to where Mary and I were sitting.

"Holy crap girl! You clean up nice!" I said. "Karen good work!" I lifted my hand up, and Karen returned the high five. Claire turned bright red.

"Really it's not THAT different," Claire muttered.

"Uh dear, have you looked at yourself in the mirror?" Mary asked.

"Not to mention that every guys' head turned as you walked in," I added.

"Whatever," Claire replied back. "I'm going to go get some of that juice, Karen would you like me to get you anything?"

"The usual," Karen said in a sing song voice. She turned to us. "Did I do good work or did I do good work?"

"You did good work," I mused. "I'm pretty sure Claire's going to be in the fantasies of practically every man in here."

"Right?" Karen said "I mean I don't think I would even be mad if Kai had a dream about her tonight. I knew there was more under all of those frumpy overalls." Karen's eyes sparkled in mischief.

"Wow Karen, you did a really good job, I'm glad Trent's not here, I might lose him to her," Mary said jokingly. All three of us giggled.

"She's going to be the talk of the town for the next few days," I said. Karen's smile grew even wider.

My eyes drifted to the counter, where Claire was standing and widened as I saw Gray pulling Rick roughly away from Claire. Rick took a swing at Gray. For a moment everything seemed to blur, then Rick and Gray were engaged in a full out fight.

"Holy crap you guys!" I shouted. "Rick and Gray are fighting!" I saw my dad run out from behind the counter. Claire screamed, and went tumbling backward, my dad tried to catch her but she hit her head on the counter, and passed out. I screamed and ran towards my friend.


	3. How It Started

Gray's POV

My half sister Ann smirked at me when she caught me staring at Mary. I saw her turn to Mary to say something. Mary shook her head. My eyes narrowed in Ann's direction just what were they talking about. I couldn't help but stare. For some reason they were dressed up, and Mary looked stunning. I watched as Mary's eyes widened, she was staring at the door. I turned to see what had gained her attention. For a moment I stood stunned, I could feel my eyes widen just as Mary's had.

Claire walked in looking like an actual girl! In the three seasons that she's lived here I had never seen her in anything but the oversized overalls, and out of control ponytails. But she walked in tonight wearing a silky blue dress, and her hair had a soft sheen as it framed her face. Karen was standing next to her looking smug.

"Dude,"Kai said. "Claire looks hot!" I turned to Kai.

"Kai you think that about all girls," I scoffed.

"Do not! But come on you gotta admit she's looking really good."

"Yeah whatever," I said

"So what's she like anyway?" Kai asked. "Don't you work with her like every day?"

"She's frustratingly annoying," I answered back. Kai smirked at me.

"Really? Doesn't seem like she'd be that way to me."

"That's because you don't have to work with her everyday," I snorted.

"I don't think I'd mind working with some one that hot everyday. Although I think I would get too distracted. I mean even in her overalls she's got a cute butt, don't you think?"

"I dunno I've never noticed. Besides you're engaged dude."

"Just because I'm engaged doesn't mean I'm dead. I can still appreciate some of Claire's finer attributes. Besides, what's the big deal? Do you have a thing for Claire or something?"

"Goddess no!" I scoffed.

Claire was now standing near the bar, Rick was standing very close to her.

"Please Rick, stop," Claire begged.

Rick growled something back to her that I couldn't understand, He reached out and gripped her arms.

"Ow! that hurts! Seriously Rick leave me alone!" Claire hissed. Claire may have frustrated me beyond belief, but I wasn't about ready to let her be bullied by Rick. I pulled Rick off from Claire.

"I believe she said to leave her alone." I said calmly.

"This doesn't concern you or your silver spoon!" Rick spat out. His free hand came swinging towards me and connected with the side of face. Damn that hurt! I lunged back at Rick, who was also lunging at me.

In the midst of the fighting, I heard Claire scream, and she went tumbling back hitting her head on the bar, and slumped to the floor. I could hear my sister screaming behind me. I shoved Rick out of the way and bent down with my father to look at Claire. She opened her eyes blinking. Her hand went to the back of her head.

"Ouch, my head hurts," Claire murmured. My dad helped lift Claire off the ground, she stumbled a bit, but then stood up. Ann, Karen and Mary were already standing there as well.

"Just what the hell happened?" Ann screamed at me.

"I..."

"This is not the time for that!" My father growled. "We need to get Claire to the clinic." He looked at my face. "You should get yourself there too boy."

"I'm fine," I answered back.

"You're bleeding!" Claire exclaimed.

"He deserves it!" Rick grumbled. My father turned to Rick.

"You, don't say a word!" My father yelled. "Come on we gotta get all of you to the Clinic. No more arguments!"

* * *

Claire's POV

I felt super self conscious in the dress Karen had forced me to wear. She had been looking through my boxes that were packed far away in the closet. I had almost paled when Karen had pulled the satiny blue dress out of box. I had bought it for a very special date, hoping that Aron would appreciate it. Of course he just as always he hadn't.

"Why do you insist on looking so plain all the time?" He had asked. The tears had welled up in my eyes. I had always had a more plain style. I thought that maybe this dress he would like. The sales lady had commented on how the dress brought out the blue tones in my eyes. "Seriously Claire this is an important night. Whatever, it's too late now, come on."

I had pushed the memory out of my brain at that point. I did not want to think of him. Not anymore.

The reaction I'd received from the Mineral Town boys was a far cry from what Aron's reaction had been. When we walked into the Inn, everyone turned to look at us. At first I thought they were looking at Karen, then I saw their attention was towards me. I blushed. I had not expected this kind of response at all, we walked up to Ann and Mary who were waiting for us at the table.

"Holy crap girl! You clean up nice!" Ann said. "Karen good work!" They high fived each other

"Really it's not THAT different," I insisted.

"Uh dear, have you looked at yourself in the mirror?" Mary asked.

"Not to mention that every guys head turned as you walked in," Ann teased.

"Whatever," I replied back. "I'm going to go get some of that juice, Karen would you like me to get you anything?"

"The usual," she answered back giving me a brilliant yet mischievous smile. That was Karen though, always finding some sort of trouble. I walked up to the bar to order a grape juice and a glass of wine for Karen. I turned to see Rick walking up to me and groaned inwardly, Rick made my skin crawl.

"Well hello there gorgeous," Rick greeted.

"Hi," I said politely back, trying to get some distance between us. Rick leaned in closer to me. Oh Goddess! He's gonna try to kiss me! I instinctively eased myself back. Rick's eyes narrowed.

"Claire when are you going to go out with me?" Rick asked.

"We've been through this Rick, I don't like you." It had gotten to the point where I had to blunt with him. I tried to be subtle, and I had tried to be nice, but Rick would not let up.

"Why? What the hell is wrong with you Claire?" Rick said. Goddess how he reminded me of Aron, everything about him, his mannerisms, his facial expressions, everything. He moved closer to me.

"Please Rick, stop!" I insisted.

"Why do you hate me so much Claire?" He growled in a low voice. He reached out and gripped my arms tightly, pain coursed through them.

"Ow! that hurts! Seriously Rick leave me alone!"

Before I knew it, Gray was pulling Rick off me. I don't really know what else happened, I heard Rick saying something about a silver spoon, and then they were fighting. I tried to pull Rick off from Gray, but he shoved me back. I felt something hard smack my head, then did not feel nor see anything but darkness.

* * *

Trent's POV

It had been another slow dreary Winter day. Winter made me feel sluggish, especially since people seemed to visit me less. It would seem like they would get sick more, but people in Mineral Town tended to stay indoors, and not do stupid things in the Winter as much, usually. I sighed. So much paperwork. People think that being a doctor is exciting because you get to save lives; when in all actuality I found myself feeling more like a secretary than a doctor because of all the paper work I had. I set another stack in Elli's "In" box for her to file. At least I did not have to do that.

My door burst open, and several people started talking to me at once. Kai, Rick, Gray, Mary, Ann, Karen, Claire, and Harris, the town's cop were all speaking. My eyes flew to my beautiful Mary who had clearly been crying. Was she injured? I scanned over her, there were no obvious signs of injury.

"Trent!" Mary shouted out.

"What happened?" I asked looking at Gray who was bleeding on the side of his head, and had a nice bruise forming. Rick looked even worse than Gray. Claire was in Gray's arms being carried. Everyone started talking at once again.

"There was a fight! Claire got hurt!" I heard someone yell through the chaos of words.

"Stop!" I yelled holding my hand up. They all stopped talking. I turned to Claire who was still in Gray's arms.

"What happened Claire?"

"Well there was fight, I hit my head on the bar. I- I'm fine. They're worse off them me." Claire said nodding towards Gray and Rick. "Gray will you put me down now? I am more than capable of walking." Gray didn't respond, just looked up at me.

"Follow me," I said to Gray. Everyone started to move. "Just Gray and Claire!" I brought them into the back exam room. Gray set Claire down on the bed.

"Really doc, it's just a lot of fuss over a little bump on the head," Claire explained.

"Let me the one to determine that," I said to Claire gently. I turned to Gray. "I take it the fight was between you and Rick? Was it worth it causing an innocent bystander to be hurt?" Rick fought with nearly everyone in the town, Gray and Kai were the two worse ones when it came to Rick. They had come to blows more than once, usually not in such public settings where others could get hurt. Gray stood silently with a remorseful look on his face.

"Oh no Doctor it wasn't Gray's fault." Claire said wincing as I gingerly felt the nice goose egg on her head. "He was actually helping me."

"Gray was helping you?" I asked. Gray and Claire would often come to blows as well, but theirs would be a battle of wits and words instead of fists. I hid the smile that I felt coming. My theory was that behind all that bickering was they had an underlying attraction towards each other. It seemed this may have been proof towards that theory. It was then that I saw some light markings on her upper arms. "What happened there?" I pointed two her arms.

"That's where Rick grabbed her," Gray spat out angrily. My anger rose matching his tone. Rick was a trouble maker alright. How many times had I treated his younger sister Popuri for "accidents in the chicken coop?" I stopped, I needed to focus on Claire at the moment.

"You'll be alright. Might be a minor concussion. What you should do is ice that nice little bump on the back of your head for twenty minutes, every two to four hours, and you need some rest. Wrap the ice in a cloth before doing so though ok?" Claire nodded. I turned to Gray to administer to the cut he had on his face, taking my time, I didn't care how long Rick would have to sit and suffer.


	4. Temporary Truce

**Note: Thanks for those who reviewed the story so far. I enjoy all the reviews. If you have any suggestions or comments please let me know! Sorry that this story is not getting as much of my attention as the other two long fanfics on my page. I will continue to work on it though. This one will probably be updated less frequently than the other two. But I will not forget about it :) **

* * *

Claire's POV

Needless to say our dinner plans for the evening were ruined. Going to the clinic was not my favorite thing to do. I hated going to see any doctor, but Trent had a way of making me feel pretty comfortable. Perhaps it was because he was dating Mary. Trent was the only person in Mineral Town who knew anything about my past, and that was only because he was privy to my old medical records. Thank goodness he was bound by privacy laws, even here in Mineral Town.

After treating me and putting a few stitches in Gray's cut, he administered to Rick. Harris was outside waiting to take my statement, then took Gray's. Harris had shooed everyone else out of the Clinic.

"How'd you get them to leave?" I asked him with a smirk on my face.

"It's magical, the powers of being a cop," Harris said winking at me. "Well Claire if you want to press any harassment charges against Rick, just let me know."

"I- I don't think I want to do that, I just want him to stay away from me."

"Well he's going to spend a few nights in the Mineral Town Jail anyway, and if you want to, tomorrow afternoon we can get a restraining order against him started."

"I don't think that will be necessary," I said. "But if it ever does become necessary, I will let you know."

"Please do, if he bothers you again don't hesitate to tell me. He's been a trouble maker ever since he was young." Harris turned to Gray. "Try to stay out fights young man." Gray nodded.

"Come on," Gray said taking my arm.

"What the hell?" I asked swatting his hand away from me.

"I'm going to walk you home," Gray said calmly.

"I can handle getting home on my own Gray," I said through gritted teeth. Why was I getting angry with him, he was just trying to help me.

"Seriously? You could barely make it here without almost passing out, I will not have you passing out on the way home and dying on my conscious."

"If I pass out and die Gray, it'll be my own fault," I retorted.

"Damn it woman! Stop being so stubborn!"

"Yeah? That's the pot calling the kettle black." I felt myself feeling dizzy again, and my knees grew weaker, Gray's arms reached out to catch me. In one swift motion he swooped me up in his arms.

"Put me down Gray." He ignored me and started walking out the clinic door. I heard Harris chuckling behind me. My face flushed. "I can walk."

"You nearly passed out in there," he growled.

"I'm fine now, put me down Gray."

"You said that already, clearly It's not going to happen." I sighed. Why was he so frustratingly stubborn? He continued to carry me the rest of the way to my house.

"Do you have ice in the freezer?" Gray asked walking towards my kitchen after he set me down on my couch.

"Gray I'm fine, you don't have to take care of me," I insisted. I stood up too quickly, causing the light-headed feeling to come back, I felt my knees buckle underneath me. Crap, I was going to pass out again. Gray rushed over to catch me, again.

"Stubborn woman," I heard him mutter. I reached up and grabbed for his shoulder to raise myself on my feet.

"I just stood up too quickly," I protested.

"Claire this is the fourth time I've had to catch you tonight. Just let me help you." Gray's voice was firm yet surprisingly tender. Maybe Mary was right, maybe he really was a nice guy. I let go of the fabric in his shirt that was clasped in my hands. Why was he being nice to me? I did not quite understand it. I saw then, the remorse in his blue eyes. Did he feel responsible for what had happened to me? Suddenly I realized that we were still in each others arms, and both of our faces were slowly moving towards the other person. Goddess we were going to kiss each other!

"Uh Gray..." I muttered, looking away. "You can let go of me now."

"Oh sorry," He mumbled. I sat back down on the couch, my face starting to feel warmer. What in Goddess' name just happened there? I placed my head in my hands. Tonight had brought up too many memories of my life before Mineral Town, the life that I was so desperately trying to get away from. I had not thought about Aron since I had left, and now the memories were flooding back.

* * *

Gray's POV

Goddess I think I was going insane! I had just had the urge to kiss Claire! Claire of all people. Thank goodness Claire had said something. What in the world was that? I am not even remotely close to being attracted to Claire! It must be all the guilt that I feel for hurting her, on top of her actually looking like a girl tonight. I could still smell the distinctive sweet smell of Pink Cat Flowers. Why did she smell like Pink Cat Flowers?

"There's a washcloth in the bathroom you can use!" Claire called out from the couch. I gathered some ice out of the freezer and placed it in a plastic bag, then walked to the bathroom to get a cloth to wrap around the ice. Claire's bathroom was surprisingly girly as well. She had purple lacy curtains hanging from the small window, and her towels were also a matching light purple hue. This girl was a contradiction.

"Here," I said handing her the ice. "Put this on that bump." I sat down next to her. Now for the hard part. I always hated apologies. Either giving them or receiving them.

"Thanks Gray," she said. It appeared that the fight was completely out of her at the moment. She looked almost helpless. Helpless? Claire? Those words didn't seem to belong together, but there it was in her eyes. There was also something else lurking there; fear. Was she afraid of me?

"Claire," I began. "I'm sorry this happened."

"It's not your fault."

"My fighting with Rick caused this.

"Rick was the one who pushed me," She sighed. She leaned back and closed her eyes. "You were just helping me."

"You should get some sleep," I replied to her.

"Umhmm..." She was half asleep already. I lifted her off her couch, thankful she was really light, after all the times I've had to carry her this evening, and carried her into her room. It felt odd tucking her into bed like a small child. She opened her eyes and looked up at me, making her appear even more innocent. "Thanks Gray." She lifted her head up and kissed my cheek. I nearly jumped back in surprise. I left before things could get any weirder.


	5. Mary's Secret

**Yes I am back from the long hiatus I took. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with my stories. Writer's block had me stuck for a while. Anyway I hope you enjoy this update.**

* * *

Mary's POV  
Things had seemed weird between Gray and Claire ever since the night of the fight. There was some intangible almost truce between the two. Instead of fighting and glares, there was silence and sometimes blushes. Neither one of them had been too eager to tell what had actually transpired after Harris had forced us all to leave the Clinic that evening. Trent had told me that Gray had carried Claire home.

Claire was retreating farther away from me. She was actually retreating from everyone. It had only been a week since the fight, but Claire had stopped coming to the Inn like she usually did in the evenings. The one night I had convinced her to come, she had been abnormally quiet, even for Claire. I was worried about my friend. I knew Gray was not the type of person to hurt anyone, but I also knew that Gray and Claire did not get along. I couldn't help but wonder if there was something that had transpired between them when he took her home.

At least Claire would be coming out today for my birthday party. She had agreed to come over early to help me bring some things over the Inn. I hoped it would give us a chance to talk. I felt strong arms wrapping around my waist, I settled my head back into Trent's chest.

"What's got you so worried?" Trent asked.

"Claire," I answered back. "She's been so quiet and withdrawn since the fight. I just feel so helpless. Neither she nor Gray are being too forthcoming with information."

"I would not worry about it too much," Trent assured. "Claire's a pretty tough girl.

"I still worry."

"I know that's what I love about you," Trent murmured.

"I can't help but think that something happened between her and Gray," I insisted. "I know they don't get along..."

"Mary I wouldn't worry too much about Gray. In fact the reason why Gray and Rick got in a fight in the first place is because Gray was pulling Rick off from Claire. I guess Rick was being too pushy," Trent informed me.

"Really?" I asked.

"Gray was protecting her, I don't think he'd do anything to hurt her after he'd just gotten in a fight to protect her do you?" Trent asked.

"No you are right," I answered. I snuggled closer to him. I truly loved this man. He was so amazing and so sweet. I had not imagined that I would be so lucky as to find a man like this. I wasn't extraordinarily beautiful like Karen, or as charismatic as Ann, or as strong willed as Claire; but for some reason this man loved me. I lifted my face to look into those beautiful chocolate brown eyes.

The door opened to the library, I turned my head expecting to see Claire, instead standing in my doorway was Gray.

* * *

Gray's POV

To say that things had been weird between Claire and I since the incident in her house was a vast understatement. In the mornings in the mines instead of our usual bickering, there was silence. It was almost enough to make me miss our fighting; almost. I also felt awkward around Claire. It was strange to me recalling that night and I could still remember the scent of Pink Cat flowers.

Mary was also bugging me about Claire, trying to get me to tell her what had happened between the two of us. But how could I tell Mary what had happened, when I was not so sure of what happened myself? Claire had been almost fragile that night. It was a side of her that I had not expected. Ever since I met the girl, she'd been able to press all the right buttons to ignite my anger. That night however there were other feelings that she had ignited. Mostly I had felt the urge to protect her.

This morning she had actually spoken to me in the mines, albeit it was only to ask me if I could go to the library to help out Mary. Claire had promised Mary she would help, but apparently had something she had to take care of at the farm. I agreed readily, always willing to spend time with Mary. I opened the door the library to see Mary in an intimate embrace with Trent. I stood for a moment in shock unable to believe what I was seeing. Mary saw me and they both jumped back away from each other. Trent whispered something in Mary's ear, then nodded at me and left. I stared at Mary who was blushing.

"What the hell was that?" I asked.

"Um..." Mary started. She stared at the floor as if was the most interesting thing she'd seen all day.

"Mary are you dating him?" I asked. She looked up at me. I didn't need her to answer, it was written plainly over her beautiful face. "For Goddess sake Mary he's almost ten years older than you!"

"I know," Mary breathed out.

"Do you love him?" I asked. Mary once again blushed.

"Gray I..."

"Never mind," I grumbled. "Let's just get your stuff and head to the Inn. Everyone's waiting for you." I didn't want to hear the answer. I did not want to hear that she was in love with the doctor.

"Gray..." Mary started to say, but did not finish. "There is stuff in the kitchen." She turned around to enter her house, and I followed.

Claire's POV

Gray and Mary walked into the Inn, and immediately I could feel the difference between them. Gray's face had the scowl that I had grown so accustomed to and was used to seeing directed at me. He was carrying the cake that Anna had so lovingly taken hours to prepare. Anna was so very different from my own mother, who was always too concerned about my weight so never baked any cakes for my birthday.

It had been weird between Gray and I ever since the night of the fight. Well to be more accurate, I felt weird around Gray. I was embarrassed about what had transpired. Standing in my living room we had almost kissed! Then when he carried me to my bed at night I kissed him on the cheek. I am not quite sure why I had done that, but every time I saw him I thought of that. Every time I thought of it, I felt uncomfortable. It had been a week since the fight had occurred, and it didn't help that Gray was being nice to me for a change. In the mornings instead of our usual bickering, there would be silence, he would not even comment when I would purposely screw things up. I was actually starting to think that perhaps he was a good guy after all.

"Mary," I rushed over to her, "let me take that stuff for you, it's your birthday you should relax."

"Okay," Mary said. She sounded sad and discouraged. Gray kept walking to the counter.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm ok," Mary sighed, I instantly knew she was lying. She just walked over to the table where Ann, Cliff, Kai and Karen were already sitting. Kai had his arm wrapped around Karen's shoulders possessively and Cliff was trying to get Ann's attention. Poor Cliff, he was always trying to impress Ann. Ann had firmly placed him in the "friend zone." Gray was up at the counter still, I walked over to him.

"Grey what happened?" I asked.

"Nothing," Gray replied roughly. My eyes narrowed.

"Mary's almost in tears, Gray what did you do to her?" I asked my arms crossed.

"I didn't do anything!" Gray snarled angrily. "This does not concern you." I felt the old familiar anger bristle.

"Look Gray..."

"Claire shut up!" Gray growled quietly.

"Of all the... I swear Gray, you are the most frustrating jerk I have ever met. I do not understand why Mary continues to be your friend, and clearly you've done something to upset her!" My voice cracked, I was trying to quiet as well. I did not want Mary to see me fighting with Gray on her birthday.

"Ugh, I can't take this anymore, I am leaving!" Gray fumed. He shoved past me and rushed out of the door to the Inn.

* * *

Ann's POV

I watched as Gray ran out of the Inn. Claire was standing at the counter looking angry, I turned to Mary who looked horrified as Claire walked back up to the table.

"What just happened over there?" I asked.

"Nothing," Claire mumbled. Mary's eyes filled with tears.

"Claire, seriously, why did Gray leave?" I prodded.

"It's not Claire's fault!" Mary interjected. "Gray walked on on Trent and I about to kiss."

"What!" Kai and Cliff both yelled simultaneously.

"Well I guess the cat's outta the bag now," I said to Mary.

"I guess so, Trent and I are dating," Mary said quietly.

"Seriously?" Cliff asked.

"Way to go Mary," Kai teased.

"Look guys, Gray's really upset about it," Mary said. "I just feel horrible."

"Oh my Goddess, I can't... gosh I feel so bad now," Claire murmured.

"Someone should go check on him," Kai said.

"I can do it," I replied.

"No offense Ann, but if I found out that the woman I had a thing for was dating someone else, the last person I would want is my sister talking to me, I'll do it." Kai said. "Besides, you should just stay here and enjoy, well try to enjoy the party." I found myself bristling at Kai for a moment, but I knew that he was right.

I watched Kai kiss Karen, then grab his jacket and leave the Inn. I was worried about my brother. I knew he had liked Mary for a while. To find about about Mary and Trent the way had must have been heartbreaking.

* * *

Kai's POV

I found Gray in Town Square pacing back and forth muttering to himself. He had even forgotten his jacket in his hurry to leave the Inn. When he saw me, he scowled.

"Yo Gray you alright man?" I called out.

"She is frustrating! She needs to keep her nose in her own business! She's probably been laughing at me this whole damn time!" Gray mumbled.

"Who Mary?"

"No Claire!" He shouted. I looked at him confused.

"I thought this was about Mary and Trent?" I asked.

"No this is about Claire, and how absolutely frustrating she is!" Gray shouted.

"Are you sure this is about Claire?" I pressed.

"Yes! No! I don't know," Gray sighed. I felt bad for my friend, he looked utterly frustrated.

"Dude I'm sorry, I know you've had a thing for Mary for a while." I placed my hand on his shoulder.

"Did you know about this?" Gray asked.

"No, do you really think I would have kept this from you man?" I asked.

"No," Gray grumbled. He shoved his hands in his pockets. "Look I'm fine. Just go back to the party."

"I don't know how much of a party it is anymore," I said seriously.

"Yeah apologize for me to Mary, and here, give her this." Gray reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. "I need to be alone at this moment." I watched as Gray walked towards the beach, and turned around to head back to the Inn.

* * *

Gray's POV

"Dude someone's here to see you," Cliff said nudging me. I had been laying on my bed face down ever since I had come back to the Inn. "I'm gonna go bug Ann."  
Cliff left. I slowly lifted my head off the pillow not sure I wanted to see who was in the room. Claire was standing before me her large blue eyes held the sympathy I had been dreading. I had an empty hollow feeling in the pit of stomach. The last thing I wanted was sympathy from anyone, and especially not from Claire.

"What?" I scowled.

"Gray, I..."

"Come to yell at me some more?" Claire winced as I saw up on the bed.

"No I've come to apologize," Claire said meekly.

"Whatever."

"I didn't know that you had..."

"Well it doesn't matter! I'm sure you had a good laugh didn't you? Well whatever, Claire you don't care about me, you never did. Why are you even here? Were you bored and decided it would be a good idea to pick a fight with Gray?" I asked. My voice was eerily calm for how angry I was. I knew in the back of my mind I was being unreasonable but did not really care at the moment.

"I..." Claire's eyes got even bigger, and for the second time since she moved to Mineral Town, I saw the look of fear on her face. She closed her eyes and sank onto Cliff's bed, her head was bowed and her hands clenched together. "I'm sorry Aron."

Aron? Who the hell was Aron.

"I'm Gray," I scowled. Claire's eyes flew open.

"I- I know that, why would you say that?" Claire asked. It dawned on me then, she wasn't even aware that she had called me by a different name.

"You called me Aron," I informed. The color left Claire's face

"S-sorry. I... " She looked away from me. "I need to go. I just wanted to say sorry." Claire ran out of the room. I sat bewildered unsure of what I had done. I had been rude to Claire, but she was used to me being rude to her. Usually Claire would fight back. This time she had not done that. She had sat down on the bed as if she had been a child waiting for some sort of punishment.

"Seriously Gray!" Ann yelled storming into my room. "I know you are hurt, but that is the second friend of mine today that you've made cry! Stop being such an insensitive jerk!" Ann came over and shoved me as hard as she could and I lay back on the bed staring at the ceiling, as Ann continued on with her tirade.


	6. Claire's Breakdown

**Here's a new Chapter. Sorry this story doesn't get as much attention as my other long fictions. Anyway this Chapter is a precursor to the next. In the next chapter we learn much more about Claire's past. Anyway I hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading. :)  
**

Claire's POV

I left the Inn in tears running. Running away from Gray, running away from my memories. I had actually called Gray, Aron? What had I been doing? Why had I done that? I ran far away hoping to escape the memories that continued to flood in my brain. It seemed that no matter how far away I went I could not escape him. He had cemented himself in my sub conscious and there was no getting rid of him. I could hear him over and over in my mind telling me the things he would always tell me.

You're unlovable Claire.

You are lucky you have me to put up with you, because Goddess knows that no other man would ever deal with you.

You are not good enough Claire.

Why do you insist on being so average Claire?

You are not beautiful Claire, no one will ever think you are beautiful.

With each sentence that flowed through my head my feet pounded against the ground. It hurt immensely to be remembering his words. Why couldn't I get away from Aron? I had moved out to the middle of nowhere and it seemed as if he was still haunting me. My heart ached, it felt as if it was tearing apart at the seams. Aron's face, his voice, everything was still prevalent. I had come to Mineral Town to forget. But would I ever be able to forget him? I continued running even further, until I could no longer run. I felt my legs collapsing beneath me.

Trent's POV

In the entire time I've known her, I had never seen Mary as angry as she was standing before me. It was actually quite adorable. I would never let her catch on to that feeling at this moment, as surely it would only succeed in enraging her further. She stood before me with her arms folded and her eyes narrowed into small slits. As much as I would love to be able to tell her what she wanted to know, I had an obligation to my patient to her privacy. Claire's past was safe with me, and Claire certainly had a past. Thinking about her medical history always made me bristle.

"I can't tell you what you want to know," I explained. "I'm sorry honey."

"She's one of my best friends!" Mary insisted.

"I know but I'm bound by la..."

"Screw your laws!" Mary shouted. Everyone waiting in the clinic turned their heads towards my beautiful girl. Soft-spoken Mary very rarely raised her voice for any reason. It was an occurrence that simply didn't happen.

"Mary..." I started, but I wasn't sure what else to say to the worried face in front of me. I understood that her anger came from worrying about her friend.

"Mary we're all worried about Claire, but we need to respect her privacy," Karen soothed. She placed a hand on Mary's shoulder tenderly. Mary's shoulders drooped slightly, and I could see the fight leave her. She silently conceded to Karen's words. I silently mouthed "thank you" to the blonde.

Everyone had been worried when Zack had found Claire collapsed on the beach in the snow. Everyone had questions about what would make such a rational, level headed girl to react so irrationally. I knew very little about what had actually happened, but her reactions after regaining consciousness is what worried me the most. There was most definitely something haunting Claire. She hadn't completely escaped her past. I was not fully qualified to handle her emotional trauma. I had already placed a call to my cousin Alex, but he would not be coming for another two days. I needed to try to find a temporary relief for the girl. I looked towards Gray, who was currently being chastised by his sister Ann. The poor boy looked a bit lost, and a bit guilty.

"I have some questions about what happened, it might help Claire," I directed towards Gray. "Will you join me in my office. Gray said nothing, simply nodded and proceeded to follow me. Mary followed behind him. I stopped her, only to receive another piercing glare. "Alone Mary."

"Fine," Mary spat out quietly. She turned on her heel to go talk to Karen.

"Don't let anyone in to see Claire," I whispered to Elli who was standing nearby. She merely nodded without making eye contact. She was still angry at me for not telling her about Mary. I sighed shaking my head, this was some mess. Two women angry with me, one nearly catatonic, and a man in my office who I was pretty sure hated my mere existence. What a great day this was turning out to be.

* * *

Gray's POV

I never thought I would be so grateful to speak with the doctor, when he came up and asked me to speak with him in his office. Ann had been continually nagging me about what happened between Claire and I, and it had only gotten worse after she was discovered on the beach. She was acting as if this entire incident was my fault. I had become the emotional punching bag for her. I understood that her anger was partly due to anxiety for her friend.

I followed the man who was dating Mary into his office. He really was the last person that I wanted to be stuck in a small room with. But I was ready for reprieve from Ann's constant tirades.

"Gray can you tell me a bit about what happened before Claire left the Inn?" the doctor asked me.

"I didn't do anything," I mumbled. Great I was getting another lecture. If I wanted a lecture I could have just stayed in the waiting room with Ann.

"I'm not accusing you of anything," Trent replied softly. I stared at him for a moment, unsure of whether or not I could believe this man. This man whom I wanted to hate more than anything, but at the moment, I couldn't find the energy to even do that. "Look Gray, I realize at the moment I am not your favorite person, but we need to do what we can to help Claire."

"She came to apologize to me, I'll admit I was angry with her, nothing unusual. But something snapped in her. She called me Aron," I informed.

"Do you know who Aron is?" Trent asked me.

"How would I know? Probably someone from her past," I stated.

"That is what I am guessing too."

"You don't know who he is either?" I asked.

"I'm her doctor, not a therapist. But I have one coming to talk to her. I think this Aron is a dangerous man. Please don't tell anyone this, but I wonder if Claire is in danger."

* * *

Elli's POV

I was hurt. I had truly thought that eventually Trent and I would be together. Yes we had broken up three seasons earlier, but I had always assumed that we would get back together. It hurt knowing he was dating someone who was still just a child. She was nine years earlier than me. It stung, and I was angry. So when Mary wanted to see Claire, I was more than happy to tell her no. Besides the fact that Trent had told me to not allow anyone into her room, I didn't want to allow her in for my own personal reasons. I realize how petty it was, but my pain was so intense. It hurt to think of how easily Trent had moved on from me.

"Trent wants no one in Claire's room," I said suppressing a smile. I couldn't help it. I wanted Mary to feel a little bit of the pain I was feeling. Trent was the love of my life. I had loved him for years. He was the man who I felt would be perfect for me.

"Elli she's my best friend can't we just let this be about Claire?" Mary asked. I felt my anger boil. How dare she assume this was about her. Granted it was, but I also was obeying Trent's orders, and I could guarantee that he wasn't wanting to hurt his precious Mary.

"Trent wants no one to disturb her, she's in no state to have company," I explained coldly. I didn't care what mary was feeling as far as I was concerned Mary was the traitor. I used to consider the librarian among my friends. It hurt even more that she did this all behind my back. I saw Mary's eyes narrow slightly, but she finally walked back over to Karen. Those girls were too entirely cliquey for my tastes. I truly like Claire, it was too bad that she got into that group of girls.

* * *

Mary's POV

"I swear she was suppressing a smile when she was telling me that I couldn't see Claire," I whispered to Karen. "I'm certain that she hates me." I knew that Elli had loved Trent. It was part of the reason that we had kept our relationship a secret for so long. We wanted to give Elli the time she needed to heal from their relationship. Trent had not loved her the way she had loved him. But this was infuriating. She seemed to enjoy the fact that I was worried about Claire. She was supposed to be a nurse, and all she cared about was hurting me, not Claire.

"Are you sure?" Karen asked.

"Yes," I replied. I loved Karen, but sometimes Karen could be too trusting in people. Most people who met Karen had the instant judgement that she was a bitch. But underneath that rough exterior was a heart of gold. Karen always gave people the benefit of the doubt, even if they didn't deserve it. She was the only person in the whole town who still even talked to Rick in a friendly manner. She saw a dear childhood friend, and not the abusive man he had become. Karen, for all the worldliness she tried to show, was quite naive.

"I can't believe she would be that way," Karen said. "But I believe you." Karen wrapped her arms around me. I didn't realize how much I had needed that hug until that moment.

"Claire's strong," Ann said who was sitting behind Karen. "I know she'll get through this. Suddenly, I heard a loud scream coming from the room in which Claire was in, followed by a loud crash. Trent came running out of his office, Elli followed him.

"Stay out here!" Trent shouted his order to Elli. Everyone stared at the door trent had just entered, and quickly closed. I couldn't move. What was wrong with my friend?


	7. Shattered Glass

**Ok so a new Chapter. Sorry it took so long again. Hope you enjoy this backstory with Claire. I wasn't really sure that I was going to reveal Aron so soon in the story, but I felt that this was where the story naturally flowed into. I felt that this needed to be dealt with before Claire could truly move on. Anyway as always let me know what you think. Thanks for reading.  
**

Trent's POV

Claire's scream could be heard from my office. I instantly reacted when I heard it. I stood now in complete shock and disbelief. The room was completely empty. Glass was scattered across the room. When I had ordered everyone to stay out of the room, I was unsure of what I would fin, but this certainly was not it. The glass itself appeared to broken from the outside in. If that was the case, where was Claire? More importantly had she been abducted, and who had abducted her? Something didn't set well with me. If someone had abducted her, it had been quick. The whole scene appeared to be staged. But could the blonde farmer really be capable of such cunning?

"What should we do?" Elli asked. Her voice trembled. Things like this simply did not happen in Mineral Town.

"Call Harris, have him close off the port, and notify Zack," I ordered. My fingers came up to pinch my nose. This was going to be unpleasant all around. I could feel the twinges of a headache sneaking up on me. As I walked out of the room, I was bombarded with shouting.

"I want to see Claire!" Mary demanded.

"You cannot go in that room," I stated firmly.

"Get out of my way Trent," Mary shoved me, and reached for the doorknob. I quickly spun around and grabbed her around the waist.

"You can't go in there Mary," I repeated. Mary struggled against me. Ann and Karen moved forward at this point towards the room.

"Let me go!" Mary shouted.

"Everyone stop!" I ordered once again. No one moved a muscle. I was known to never raise my voice to anyone, but this was serious. I took a deep breath, I only had a few seconds before the effect wore off. "You can't go in there. Claire is not in there, she may have been abducted, we need to preserve the scene for Harris." Gasps of horror and shock filled the small waiting room. Suddenly everyone was questioning me again.

I sighed and sat down in my desk. Harris was still in the small room Claire had been in. He was doing the best he could until the reinforcements came in. This was not something that happened very often in Mineral Town. I finally had a few minutes to myself this day had been long and exhausting. Most people had left a few minutes ago to look for Claire. The door opened and Mary stepped inside her eyes red from tears.

"Mary?" I asked. She looked like a lost angel. I had never seen her look so devastated in my entire life.

"I c-cant..." Mary started. Her head drooped. "I can't h-help them. What if..." She stopped her voice breaking, and her tears rolled down her face. I closed the distance between us and wrapped my arms around her shaking form.

"Mary." Was all I could manage.

"I am so terrible. I should be out there! But I just can't. I am so weak!" Mary shouted more tears falling down her face.

"They'll find her Mary," I promised, hoping beyond everything that I was right, and Claire would be safe.

* * *

Gray's POV

Claire was missing, the big question on everyone's mind was, did she leave willingly? Or was it something more sinister than that? Was she really abducted? Before my talk with the doctor I would have had no reason to believe the latter. Until now, I would have never imagined that something like that could have happened here. Mineral Town was innocence manifested. Claire herself appeared to be unassuming and non threatening. Could she really be in danger like Trent thought? It was scary to think. Claire was a rather small girl, someone could easily hurt her. Maybe it was Rick. Maybe he had finally snapped and decided to abduct Claire. Whatever happened to her, I couldn't help but feel guilty. She had clearly been afraid of me when I had last seen her. She had called me Aron.

"Whatever you said to her big brother caused all this. So help me if we don't find her, you will be sorry," Ann had said to me. Ann was furious with me. She blamed me almost as much as I blamed myself. Perhaps I had been too rude to her. Claire had secrets that no one in Mineral Town seemed to know about. Claire was an enigma in her own right. Just who exactly was she? We really did not know much about her. She was still so new to the area. I just hoped that we would find her okay. Even if she angered and frustrated me, I still didn't want to see her harmed.

When everyone split up to go look for her, I found myself wandering around her property. Perhaps she had just gone home. I could hear a faint sound of yelling coming from her farm house. Someone was certainly in there! It didn't sound like Claire. I drew closer the house, I could hear her voice. She was in the house. Instinct took over, and I rushed into her home.

* * *

Claire's POV

"You're worthless Claire!" He shouted at me. I felt as if I were hallucinating. It felt like a nightmare of the worst kind to have Aron standing in front of me in my farmhouse, my safe haven from the hurt I had felt for so long. I didn't know how he had been able to find me, but I hated him even more seeing him invade this space. I had been so weak when I had been under his control. Even though I had grown strong over the past few seasons I still feared him. His rage was frightening.

Flashback

_I sat in the middle of the floor crying. Aron had shoved me to the floor, once again angry at something I failed to do properly. This time it had been more serious than usual. He was yelling about a dinner for his bosses that I was supposedly supposed to prepare that evening. He had instead taken them out to a restaurant. When he got home he was incensed. I knew he had never tole me about this dinner, it was Aron who had forgotten, not me. But I didn't dare tell him that._

_"Get up you lazy bitch!" Aron yelled. He pulled me up roughly by the arm. I stood and looked at him sliding into the place in my head I always did whenever he would act this way. "You're so damn lucky I put up with you! No one else would! You are useless Claire! I can't even trust you with making a measly dinner?"_

_"You never told me," I whispered softly, not able to stand being yelled at anymore. Wrong response. His face grew redder._

_"Are you saying I forgot? I know I told you!" He shouted._

_"No Aron you..." He shoved me back again, this time I fell into the coffee table, the glass fell and I could feel it shatter beneath me. I felt shards of it going through my skin._

_"Are you calling me liar Claire?" Aron asked. His eyes narrowed. He knelt down near me. "Don't ever call me liar Claire. Remember you are mine. I own you." He came closer to me. I was in pain, and knew that I was bleeding in places from the glass. His lips came crushing down on mine a punishment more than it was an act of tenderness. I pushed him away from me, but it only angered him further. He gripped and pulled my hair, forcing me to stay still. Tears streamed down my face, as I surrendered to him._

End flashback.

I had been under his control so completely. However he could not win this time around. I had become something different than the girl who had been under his control for so long.

"I am not worthless!" I stated calmly back, a feeling of exhilaration came over me. I felt a sharp sting across my face. The slap was certainly real, he was no figment of my imagination.

"You belong to me!" he yelled. I gathered whatever courage I had in me and pushed him away as he tried to grab me. It only angered him even more. I gripped my arms tightly. They still hadn't fully healed from the encounter with Rick. I winched, but I was no longer under his control, he could hurt me physically, but I was no longer his.

"I am not yours anymore," I replied back with a bit more bravado than before. I stood my ground refusing to allow him to see any of my emotions. He drew back again to hit me once more, and the door burst open. I turned to see who my savior was. I was shocked to see Gray standing in my house. I had never been so happy to see him in my entire life. I pushed Aron away from me and ran over the blacksmith's apprentice. Gray looked a bit shell shocked. Aron glared at Gray and started towards him. From the look on his face I could see, there was going to be another fight in Mineral Town.


	8. Freedom

**I understand that people may be confused about Aron and what happened with him before Mineral Town, but I promise the next few Chapters will clear that up. As always I hope you enjoy this chapter. It took a while for me to decide where I wanted the story to go.**

* * *

Gray's POV

The man standing in Claire's living room started towards me ominously. I knew that I would be able to easily take him, as he was small in statute. He looked refined and very much a city boy. However, Claire was clinging to me as if I were a life raft. She was shaking almost uncontrollably and because of this I was unsure of what to do. She steadied herself in my arms. The man had reached us. I was surprised that instead of trying to hit me, he reached for Claire. I caught is arm. Whoever he was, I was not going to allow him to hurt Claire, not while she was in this state.

"Stay out of this, this doesn't concern you," the stranger growled at me. I twisted his arm and held it behind his back. I instantly pegged him for the kind of coward that only picked on women who were weaker than him.

"No this does concern me," I answered back. "It concerns everyone in this village." He didn't look at me. Instead he looked up at Claire. His eyes narrowed angrily. There was a sudden commotion behind me.

"What's going on here?" I heard Harris' voice booming. He looked at me and the mysterious man. "You again. You seem to be getting into a lot of trouble these days Gray."

"No!" Claire shouted. It was the first time she had spoken since I had burst into her house. "It's not Gray's fault!"

"Shut up Claire!" the mystery man yelled. Claire winced, but quickly regained composure. Instead of addressing him, she walked over to Harris.

"This is the man who took me from the hospital room," Claire explained.

"Who is this man?" Harris asked her. Claire was silent. "Did he hurt you?" Harris prodded. Claire nodded. Her bravado was slipping. I could see it. Whoever this man was to Claire, he was someone who was dangerous to not only her physical, but mental well being. But that single nod was all Harris needed. He quickly took over and cuffed the man. I stepped back, allowing Harris to take over. This was his expertise not mine. I watched as the man continued to shout at Claire.

"You worthless piece of shit! I should never have given you a second glance!" Claire hid further behind me. He tried to lunge towards Claire. Harris pulled him back.

"I wouldn't recommend that," Harris advised calmly.

"Claire baby," the man soothed, changing his tactics. "You know I love you. We belong together." I couldn't believe how quickly he changed from raving lunatic to supposed caring lover. I knew in that moment how dangerous he was. This man reminded me of my stepfather. The man who I had lived with for many years. I had watched him brutalize my mother, then turn into an apologetic mess. It was no wonder Claire was afraid of him.

"Claire," the man continued to plead. "Baby please! I love you!" His pleas became more violent. "Claire baby this isn't necessary. Let's just talk this out. Just the two of us, please Cl-"

"She has nothing more to say to you!" I shouted, surprising everyone in the room, myself included. Claire looked up at me, I could see the relief in her eyes.

"Thank you," she whispered. At that moment Ann came rushing into the farmhouse.

"Claire!" I heard her yell. My sister rushed forward and put her arms around Claire.

"I- I'm ok," Claire replied softly. "Thanks to Gray." She smiled softly back at me.

"Let's get you back to the doctor's" Ann stated firmly. Claire merely nodded.

"This isn't over Claire," The man spat out as she walked by him.

"It is Aron," she answered softly. There was no anger in her voice, and no fear. She was firm, yet very gentle. She had made her decision. She had freed herself from his grasp. It was at that moment things came full circle. This was Aron? She had called me by his name. I felt a rush of emotions overcome me. Had I reminded her of this man? A wave of pain washed over me? Had I turned into someone like my stepfather? I watched as everyone left the small farmyard, I stood there alone with my thoughts. Alone with my deepest fears.

* * *

Ann's POV

We walked silently to the clinic. I had attempted several times to start a conversation, but Claire was having no part of it. Poor Claire appeared to be stuck somewhere inside her head. She had known the man in handcuffs by name. He had threatened her. It made me angry. This man who dared come into Mineral Town and disrupt our calm lives, really thought he could get away with threatening her like that? I forced myself to calm down, Claire needed me to help her now. I needed to get her to the clinic, then I would question Gray. I would deal with my emotions later.

Gray. For some reason he seemed to be getting himself involved in a lot of trouble surrounding Claire. I couldn't help but smirk just a bit. Perhaps he didn't hate Claire as much as he stated. Inwardly I chuckled at the thought of my ornery brother liking Claire. Even if he did, he would be too damn stubborn to admit it. He was also too hung up on Mary, so even if he did have feelings for Claire, he wouldn't notice.

I turned my attention back to Claire. She appeared to not even recognize that I was walking next to her. She was softly murmuring something that was indecipherable. It was eerie watching her empty eyes. I had never before seen someone's eyes look like that. It was almost a frightening look. We finally rounded the corner to the Clinic. Mary came rushing out the door.

"Claire!" She moved to put her arms around Claire. Claire raised her hands up over her head and ducked away from Mary's embrace. She still said nothing. Mary stood shocked and horrified.

"Let's get you in the clinic," I said softly. I gently placed my hand on her back pressing her forward. Claire walked robotically through the doors.

"What happened?" Mary whispered in my ear.

"I'm not so sure myself, I showed up at the end of it all," I replied. Inside the clinic Elli took over, leading Claire into another room.

"End of what?" Mary asked. I turned to my friend.

"I'm not sure. I walked into her house and Gray was there. Harris had some man in cuffs. Who I'm pretty sure was threatening Claire," I explained. "Beyond that I don't know what is going on."

"My goodness," Mary breathed out.

"Yeah," I responded. "This is crazy."

Gray didn't come home till late that evening. He looked worn and almost angry. Getting information out of him empty handed was just not going to happen. I came upstairs with a plate of leftovers from dinner. Gray accepted the offering with a wary look.

"What so you want?" Gray growled.

"You going to tell me what happened today?" I asked.

"No." I felt my anger rising. Taking a deep breath I waited a few seconds.

"Gray, this is not funny..."

"No you're right Ann it's not. This is serious. And I can't tell you. Even if I could it's not my place to tell you Claire's business!" Gray scolded. He was angry. I felt slightly ashamed for being so intrusive.

"I'm sorry Gray," I said softly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm not the person you need to worry about." He turned away from me then, his signal that the conversation was over. I slipped quietly out of his room. I guess all my wondering would have to be put on hold.

* * *

Claire POV

Things were swirling around my head. It was too much for me to be able to comprehend fully. I'm not sure how I ended up in the clinic. I just knew that I was finally felt free from Aron's grasp. This was the true test of my courage against him. As exhilarating as the feeling was, it still hurt. I hadn't realized how much I still cared about him. Even with how cruel he had been to me.

"Claire," Trent greeted softly. I looked up at him. He had a soft expression on his face. For a moment I feared I was seeing double, as there was an identical looking man standing next to him. "This is my brother Alex. He's a psychologist. He's here to talk to you." I rolled my eyes.

"Look doc, I don't need my head shrinked, I just need to get back to work," I stated. I wondered if the town thought that I was crazy now. Alex looked friendly enough, I just didn't like the idea of telling some stranger about my personal life. I didn't like the idea of telling anyone, let alone some stranger.

"Claire you've been through some pretty traumatic stuff..."

"Look, I appreciate what you're trying to do here. I don't need this. I just need to get back home." Trent sighed. He suddenly looked tired.

"I understand your hesitation Claire," Alex stated. "Is it okay to call you Claire?"

"Yeah," I answered back.

"I can imagine you think that I'm just for crazy people, but I promise you I'm not. I'm here to help you." I looked at him skeptically. This stranger wanted to help me? That seemed unlikely. "How bout this. I makes my house calls. I'll come by once a week for a little while. If you agree to that, I'll see if I can convince my brother here to let you go home."

"Alex..." Trent started. He trailed off as Alex raised his hand to indicate silence. I wanted to go home. It was a tempting offer.

"Okay," I sighed. He was crazy to think I would be able to get anything out of it, but I wanted nothing more than to be in my own bed again. I hated hospitals.

Later that evening settled into my house and cuddled up in a blanket with a warm cup of tea, I finally felt safe again. That feeling was short lived, soon after settling onto my couch, a knock sounded on my door. I trudged over to open it. In the doorway stood my mother. Tears were streaming down her face.

"Claire honey, you have to stop this foolishness." My eyes narrowed, even though I was expecting this, I didn't think it would come so soon.


	9. You Can Run

**I hope this chapter clears up some of the confusion some of you had about who Aron was. That was intentional. I wasn't ready to reveal it until now. It was a slow build up, but her past is finally being revealed. Don't worry there's more drama to come, and I really like the way the story is shaping up. I hope you enjoy it as well. Anyway, as always let me know what you think. **

* * *

Claire's POV

If there was one thing that my mother was good at, it was showing up just as everything in my life started falling apart. However, unfortunately for me, whenever she did show up she would make things much worse. She stood now before me with tears in her eyes. I knew exactly what she wanted and what she was going to say. I also knew there was no way in hell I was going to comply with any of her requests.

"Claire honey please, you need to get those charges dropped!" She pleaded. She took my hands into hers.

"I'm not going to do that," I replied. Anger surged through me. My mother was incapable of functioning without a man's approval or existence in her life. I squashed the anger I felt. It would do no good, nothing would change. My mother's crying increased.

"H-how can you be so heartless?" She asked. She quickly threw my hands down. How typical of my mother. She only showed me affection when it would benefit her somehow.

"Ha," I scoffed. "It just figured you would take his side.

"I love him, Claire!" She blurted out. I froze in horror and shock.

"You love him?" I asked angrily. This time I couldn't hold back my anger. "How could you possibly love him?" I turned away from her struggling to keep my tears in. I was taken back to the moment when I had decided to finally leave Aron.

Flashback

_I remember that day being beautiful. It had been a perfect day in my mind. I had finished work early, Aron had taken the day off. My intention was to surprise him and take him out for lunch. Things had been going really well. Aron had actually started attending an anger management class. It had been quite a while since he'd had an outburst of anger. When my neighbor had called the police on him I had been terrified, but things had been shaping up. It had been a glorious month. I was beginning to feel like he was changing. That he could change. A beautiful melody was running through my head as I pulled up into the driveway._

_The minute I turned the key into the door, I knew that something was wrong. The apartment was too quiet. As I stepped into the living room and heard soft noises coming from the bedroom A woman's shirt was flung across the couch. I couldn't move. I recognized the shirt. How could I not? I had seen it so many times before. I gathered my thoughts and quickly moved towards the bedroom. The sounds became louder. Even knowing what I'd find, I still needed to be sure._

_Finding my mother in bed with my fiancé was quite possibly one of the most heartbreaking moments of my life. My mother had never been that close to me. She had always put herself over me. I got the feeling I was little more than a nuisance._

_"What the..." Aron jumped out of the bed. I stood silently, waiting for the explanation. "You're supposed to be at work." His voice was ominous, as if this whole situation was my fault. He moved to grab me. He gripped my arm tightly._

_"My mother?" I asked dejectedly. "It could have been anyone, and you chose my mother?" I looked down at the ground._

_"What the hell are you doing home?" He asked roughly. I could see my mother scrambling around behind him._

_"This is not my fault," I wrenched my arm from his grip and turned to leave. He grabbed my waist and whirled me around, slamming me against the wall. His face drew closer to mine._

_"Where do you think you're going?" He asked. His voice was dangerously soft. I cringed at the sound._

_"I'm leaving," I stated with as much courage as I could muster. He gripped me harder._

_"Like hell you are. You belong to me." I looked away. A wave of revulsion overcame me. The idea of being with this man was sickening. I knew too much. "You will go no where. You're going to be mine forever. I love you." I heard a cry from my mother. She scrambled up to him with no regard to her state of undress. Her hands clung to his arm._

_"You said you didn't love her! You said you loved me!" My mother's voice was pleading. I looked away from both of them._

_"Shut up Eve!" Aron shouted, he threw her off his arm, she tumbled to the ground. She started weeping. I didn't move a muscle. As far as I was concerned I was done with both of them. He turned to me. "If you ever leave me, I will find you and drag you back here. You are mine."_

_I remained silent, refusing to give in. I had been through do much pain, so much agony, and this had been my breaking point. Aron lifted me away from the wall and smashed me against it again._

_"Do you understand me?!"_

_"I heard what you said, Aron," I replied. I refused to agree with him. The answer seemed to placate him._

_"Be a good girl and go get us some lunch while I deal with your mother."_

_I left the house, and didn't turn back around. I had never been so grateful that I had not given in to his insistence of joint bank accounts. That day I left that life behind. I emptied my account, sold my car, and bought the farm that I had seen the ad for so many times before._

End Flashback.

* * *

Gray's POV

A strange woman walked into the inn. She was stunningly beautiful. Her eyes surveyed the the interior wearily. I could see the disapproval in her eyes. She was dressed impeccably. The look on her face reminded me of Claire. I had seen that look so many times directed at me. The woman sauntered over to the counter where my father stood.

"I need a room," the woman replied. She batted her eyes towards him. I found myself rolling my eyes. The little resemblance to Claire quickly vanished. "I was hoping you had a spare one handsome."

"Of course we do, it's 50g a night," My father replied.

"Oh." The woman brought her hand up to her chest. "Well that's a lot of money for a place like this." She beamed at my father. This was the kind of woman that I could not stand. She reminded me of so many of the rich debutantes that I had encountered in the city. She thought that her beauty would get her anything she wanted. Women like her believed that since we were in a small town, we knew nothing of real beauty. They felt entitled, and that we would welcome their beauty. My father especially hated women like that, women like my mother.

"We'll that's our rate, and we're the only Inn for miles, so take it or leave it," my father replied. I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Is something funny?" The woman turned to address me.

"No ma'am," I answered back cordially. Taking another long drink from the beer in my hand.

"I'll take whatever room you got," the woman stated, obviously irritated with both me and my father. She slid the money over to my father. "I'll be here for a week."

"Name?"

"Eve Larimore."

"Well Ms. Larimore, your pay also included breakfast and dinner, you're on your own for lunch. Breakfast is at 7 am sharp, dinner's served from 6:30-9. your room is 208. It'll be upstairs on the left." He slid the key over to her, she let out a soft noise of disgust and turned on her heels.

"W-Would you like some help with your suitcases ma'am?" Cliff offered. He worked in the vineyard, and had a raging crush on my sister. He was a good kid though, just a bit aloof. He was a nice person to everyone, but terribly shy.

"Well at least someone here knows how to be a gentleman, I'd appreciate that," stated the woman who called herself Eve. She shot a glare towards me and my father and turned on her heel. When she was out of hearing range I looked at my father and we both started laughing uncontrollably.

"What's so funny?" Ann asked coming though the door.

"You had to be there." I explained.

"There's a new patron at our inn," my father stated.

"I know," Ann said grudgingly.

"What's with you?" I asked. My sister usually only had a short fuse with me.

"I just came back from Claire's house. That's her mom. She wants Claire to drop the charges on that horrible man!" Ann's anger was evident. "I refuse to serve her dad. I will not be rude to your customer, but I cannot be nice to her either."

"Trust me Ann, I don't think she'll last here very long," my father assured her. Ann sighed and left for the back room undoubtedly to do some cleaning. Ann liked to clean whenever she felt stressed or angry. I certainly hoped my father was right. I left the city to get away from women just like that.

At that moment Rick burst into the Inn. He came stomping up to my father glaring.

"Where is she?" Rick asked. "This is the only place she'd go! I told you once before old man, stay out of my family's affairs! Where the hell is my sister?" He reached over and grabbed a handful of my father's shirt. I leapt into action, quickly restraining Rick.

"Let go of me you bastard!" Rick yelled. I sighed. I was really getting tired of these encounters with Rick. My father reached for the phone to call Harris.

"Looks like the town jail will be busy tonight," my father mused.


End file.
